Computer-controlled embroidering machines are made by a number of manufacturers and marketed under several brandnames. All such machines are generally comprised of a sewing head, a clamp, frame, hoop, or sash for stretching and securing a workpiece under the sewing head, and a drive system for moving the workpiece in the X and Y axes. Such machines are provided with different systems for securing the workpiece and positioning the workpiece under the sewing head. Two commonly-used systems for securing the workpiece are those which secure flat or tubular goods (the phrase "tubular goods" is often used to refer to T-shirts, sweaters and sweatshirts, jackets, and similar articles of clothing) under the sewing head and those which secure caps and hats under the sewing head, the latter often being referred to as cap drivers.
Flat and/or tubular goods are clamped or otherwise secured under the sewing head in a manner which stretches the material comprising the workpiece tightly under the sewing head for movement along the X and Y axes of the embroidering machine under the control of a computer which has been pre-programmed with the necessary instructions for producing a desired embroidery pattern on the workpiece. Various cloth spreading frames for securing flat and tubular goods under the sewing head are disclosed in, for instance, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,834,006, 5,249,537, 5,291,843, and 5,884,571. A cap driver accomplishes the same function of securing, stretching the material, and positioning under the sewing head but is used with hats, caps, and similar articles. Cap drivers are disclosed in more detail in, for instance, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,167,194 and 5,598,797.
Certain embroidering machines allow the user to switch from a cloth spreading frame to a cap driver so that the same machine can be used for embroidering both caps and flat/tubular workpieces. The ability to switch from one type of workpiece to the other allows the use of such a machine to embroider nearly every type of workpiece likely to be encountered in the normal use of the machine. One such machine is available under the brandname TAJIMA.TM..
Although the ability to switch from the spreading frame used for flat and tubular goods to the cap driver increases the utility of the machine, so far as is known, the construction of such machines is such that the frame used for flat and tubular goods must be removed from the machine to operate the machine with the cap driver on the X-Y drive system. The frame used for flat and tubular goods must therefore be removed from the X-Y drive system when the cap driver is mounted to the X-Y drive system (and likewise, the cap driver must be removed to use the frame for tubular and flat goods) because the two devices physically interfere with each other.
It is not always convenient to replace the frame for flat and tubular goods with the cap driver (or vice-versa) and the machine must be out of service during the switch. In many shops, the operator may not be able to determine the order in which workpieces are to be embroidered such that the operator may be required to switch back and forth between cap driver and the frame for flat and tubular goods several times over a relatively short time.
Embroidering machine manufacturers have provided a variety of designs for shortening the time required for this switch. For instance, the frame for flat and tubular goods which is provided with the above-mentioned TAJIMA.TM. machine can be detached from the carriage of the X-Y drive system by removing two pairs of screws from a so-called joint plate which comprises a portion of the carriage of the drive system. Attaching the cap driver to the drive system is equally simple. However, even these operations take time, and in a busy embroidery shop, every minute the machine is out of service is a minute in which the machine is not turning out product, and when the cap driver and the frame for flat and tubular goods must be switched back and forth multiple times each day, for instance, productivity suffers.
The patent literature discloses a number of hoops and spreading frames for holding a workpiece under a sewing head, some of which are listed above. At least one patent, U.S. Pat. No. 4,831,753, appears to disclose a different approach to this problem of time that is lost during the switch by providing an embroidery frame which can be used to clamp a hat so that no cap driver is necessary. However, so far as is known, the device disclosed in that patent is not in common use. The industry therefore needs a better solution to the problem of time lost during the switching of a cloth spreading frame for a cap driver, and vice versa.
It is, therefore, a primary object of the present invention to provide a solution to this loss of production caused by the time required to switch between a frame for flat and tubular goods and a cap driver.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an adapter plate for the X-Y drive system of an embroidering machine which is used for mounting a cloth spreading frame for positioning and securing flat and tubular goods under the sewing head of the embroidering machine which also allows operation of the machine with a cap driver mounted to the X-Y drive system.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a method of embroidering a cap with such a machine with the spreading frame for use with tubular and flat goods (mounted on the adapter plate) in place under the sewing head of the machine, e.g., without removing the adapter plate from the machine.
Other objects, and the advantages, of the present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the following description of the preferred embodiments of the invention.